Sunday, December 18, 2016

Holding Trump’s Feet to the Fire

Shake off that post-election glow, and stop falling in line, conservatives.

On Tuesday, Newt Gingrich unveiled his newest speech, “The Principles of Trumpism,” at the Heritage Foundation. Gingrich, who used to provide intellectual heft to conservative ideas, now lends his brains to providing an ad hoc political movement with the veneer of philosophy — at an elevated speaking cost, of course.

So, what are the principles of Trumpism? Opposing political correctness, saying “Merry Christmas,” and protectionism, among others. But mainly, the Principles of Trumpism are the Attitudes of Trumpism: populist rabble-rousing, “in the tradition of Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, and Ronald Reagan,” Gingrich said. “And by that I mean, in every case, they believed in the American people, they aroused the American people, and they led the American people to victory over entrenched powerful interests.”

Gingrich never bothered to mention that Jackson was an ambitious demagogue who cared little about legal restrictions on his power and used the spoils system to punish his enemies and reward his friends; Teddy Roosevelt was a progressive who massively expanded the reach and power of the federal government; FDR destroyed the very notion of limited government in the United States and ruled from on high using the might of the federal government. If we are to take Gingrich seriously, the main Principle of Trumpism is this: Say whatever you can to win popularity, then use whatever power you have to do what you want.